International workshop on Fukushima nuclear accident held in Futaba

An international workshop on the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear accident was held Saturday in the town of Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture. The meeting took place at a hotel that opened this month in one of the two municipalities that host Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station, where a triple reactor meltdown occurred after the March 2011 tsunami.

Workshop participants and topics About 140 nuclear regulatory officials and experts, including participants from the United States and France, attended the event. They shared lessons from the disaster, outcomes of research on accident response, and progress on decommissioning the damaged plant.

The workshop was organized jointly by Japan’s Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation and the Nuclear Energy Agency, an affiliate of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Statements from organizers An NDF official said decommissioning work remains in its initial stage and that international cooperation is necessary. NEA Director-General William Magwood said the international community shares responsibility for remembering the people of Fukushima and that participants will continue working on the issue until completion.

At a joint news conference after the workshop, Magwood noted progress in Futaba’s post-disaster reconstruction and expressed hope that residents would return soon. On Sunday, participants are scheduled to discuss the future course of decommissioning and how residents can join decision-making on nuclear policy.